Good Times Vs Bad Times
by calma-llama
Summary: Things aren't going well for Yumi, resulting in a bad day. Ulrich takes it upon himself to cheer her up and assure her that she's not alone.


_An Unexpected Error Has Occurred_

Yumi's breath catches in her throat. _No, please no, no_. She clicks frantically at the screen, praying that if she clicks it enough times, the error will vanish and all the work she's done in the past hour wouldn't be erased. The error just sits there, laughing at her and she bites her lip, holding back some choice words.

"Oh my...Ugh...Are you serious?!" She allows herself those words, holding off on the cursing because she was stuck in detention with Jim for the last two hours in library. She shoves away the laptop and folds her arms, hissing in frustration. Ulrich looks up from his comic book and Yumi glances over, eyes burning with irritation, daring him to say something. The samurai just adverts his gaze, going back to his reading. Yumi instantly feels bed, but refuses to say anything, just balling up her fists and growling.

Of course, she should've saved everything she was writing, but naturally, like every one of her friends knows, Yumi was terrible when it came to computers. When Jeremie or Aelita weren't there to guide her though, everything would end up a mess. She gave a heavy sigh and shuts the laptop down.

Perhaps, if she could get Jim to allow her to leave detention for a bit, maybe she could cool her head and start fresh when she returned.

Suddenly there's a vibration in her pocket and she fishes out her phone to read the text.

**[Text Received: Mom]** _Yumi, your father and I aren't gonna be able to fly into France for another couple of days, so you'll have to celebrate your birthday without us. I'm so sorry dear, but your father's job keeps getting in the way. Keep an eye on Hiroki and I hope you're not giving your grandparents a hard time. Again, I'm sorry._

"Today's just not gonna get any better, is it?" She whispers through gritted teeth. Yumi exhales slowly to calm her nerves and quickly replies that everything is fine and wishing them luck with all the business they were taking care of in Japan.

She'd almost forgotten her birthday was only days away, but it didn't really matter. She didn't care much for birthdays, hers in particular, but she put up with the cliché parties and stupid presents because it was the only time she didn't have to worry about her family falling apart. But, that won't be happening now.

The rest of the group always tried their best to keep Yumi looking on the bright side, Ulrich especially, but she couldn't help but feel that they were trying to fend off the inevitable. Sure, her parents only fought once a week at most, but somewhere deep inside, she knew there would be a breaking point and there was nothing they could do to change that.

It's rare for Yumi to get upset to the point where she cuts off all communication with her friends. But it was almost never that she gets physically angry where she's slamming doors or verbally lashing out at others, but when it does happen...Well, she's just thankful for the amazing friends she has. Ulrich was usually the one to brood or snap and even Jeremie had his moments, but the geisha was the level headed one of their group, not to mention the oldest. She just kept whatever feelings she had bottled up till she got home and locked herself in her room.

But today was different. When their four hours of detention are up, which she spent trying to rewrite whatever she could of her essay that was due tomorrow and remembering she had to return to her house where her grandparents who would never stop talking about the _good ol' days _were, she's stomping around. Odd catches her eye when she passes by and asks her if she's okay. The words are flying out of her mouth before she can even comprehend them.

"Mind your own business, Odd."

The blonde's eyes widen in shock, confused and more than a little hurt. He knows Yumi doesn't get bitter often and just side steps out and away from her fury, making his way to his dorm without another word.

Aelita and Jeremie both attempt to ask Yumi if she was alright but the geisha just glares at them both, eyes narrowed and they both advert their eyes, returning to their conversation.

The only one who dared approach her was Ulrich. The samurai catches her while she's walking to the gates of the campus, ready to deal with her little brother and annoying grandparents.

"Yumi..." Ulrich begins and the girl stops dead in her tracks, turning to see the brunette. Her lips were pressed in a line.

"What is it, Ulrich?"

Ulrich stands his ground, not wanting to admit that he feels a tug at his heart strings when Yumi doesn't reply with her typical warm tone, the way she smiles when she says his name.

"Talk to me, Yumi...What happened? You're storming around school and everyone's obviously worried about you." He makes a move to reach out to Yumi, but the already angry geisha takes a step back, putting space between them.

She's not allowed to feel this way. She's not allowed to want to throw herself into Ulrich's arms, to hug him tightly and explain about how her life was a wreck and how she was having problems balancing her duties as a Lyoko Warrior and life as a teenaged girl. She's surely not allowed to kiss the boy, to smile against his lips and want _more_. She was just simply not allowed.

"Forget it, Ulrich. Just...Leave me alone."

"Yumi, I'm your friend. As much as we've fought in the past and argued about the most stupid things, I'm still your friend. Through all the good times and even the bad times, I'm still here for you. I still care about you. I just want to make sure you're alright."

Ulrich steps forward again and this time doesn't allow Yumi the opportunity to step away from him. Wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. Ulrich embraces her, hugging her tightly and only holds her closer when he feels her body tremble against his. It doesn't take long to realize that she is crying.

"Hey, hey Yumi...Look at me. It's okay, everything is okay. I've got you...I'm here." He's looking at her face now, wiping away her tears with a smile that makes Yumi's heart race.

"I'm sorry." Yumi tries to hide her face from him, but Ulrich doesn't allow it, simply slipping his fingers underneath the geisha's chin and lifting her face back up.

"Yumi, I love you. I hate seeing you so upset. Please don't ever think you're alone, because we care about you. I do and I want nothing more than to see you happy."

Yumi feels the last of her rage disappear from her body and she can't help the smile that spreads across her lips. She grabs Ulrich's collar and pulls him in for a kiss, sighing contentedly against his lips and feeling him smile against the kiss.

So, maybe today would get better after all.

"Come on, let's go finish up that report of yours." Ulrich reaches for Yumi's hand and entwines their fingers, leading her back to the library.


End file.
